Category Archives: Blog

The LCDS girls’ basketball team finished the regular season with an overall record of 16-5, 6-4 in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 play (3rd place). The Cougars are the No. 2 ranked team in the upcoming PIAA District 3 Girls’ Class 1A Tournament. LCDS will host the winner of the Lebanon Catholic (No. 7 seed) and New Covenant Christian (No. 10 seed) game at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb 22. To view the entire District 3 Class 1A bracket, click here.

The LCDS boys’ basketball team finished the regular season with an overall record of 16-4, 7-3 in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 play (tied 2nd place). The Cougars just missed out on the L-L League Playoffs — losing the tie-breaker to Columbia — and will begin preparation for the upcoming PIAA District 3 Boys’ Class 1A Tournament. As the No. 3 seed, LCDS will host Lancaster County Christian School (No. 6 seed) in the Quarterfinal Round at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21. To view the District 3 Class 1A bracket, click here.

The LCDS boys’ squash team finished the season with a record of 5-9. With 14 matches and additional scrimmages, this was the biggest schedule ever for the program. With one senior and one junior on the top of the roster — and the rest in ninth grade — the team was very young this year. Newcomers Jonah R. ’20 and Ben A. ’22 played important roles in rounding out the roster, with six other new players filling in as needed. The boys went 2-2 at the U.S. Squash National High School Team Championships in Hartford, Conn.

The LCDS girls’ squash team finished the season with a record of 3-9. With 12 matches and additional scrimmages, this was the biggest schedule ever for the program. The top of the roster was anchored by two experienced returning players, Whitney F. ’20 and Alexa S. ’19, with many newcomers in the remainder of the varsity group. Courtney C. ’19, Gaby K. ’19, Samantha E. ’19 picked up the game quickly and played admirably for their first and last season. The girls went 0-3 at the U.S. Squash National High School Team Championships in Hartford.

The McCaskey boys’ swimming team finished the regular season with an overall record of 5-4, 1-4 in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1. At the L-L League Championships, Christian F. ’20 placed sixth in the 100 freestyle (49.98) and eighth in the 50 freestyle (22.77), and Owen W. ’20 placed second in the 100 butterfly (53.37) and fifth in the 100 backstroke (55.83). Both Christian and Owen were on the 400 freestyle and 200 freestyle relays that finished third and seventh, respectively. The Red Tornado placed eighth in the team standings.

The McCaskey girls’ swimming team finished the regular season with an overall record of 1-8, 0-5 in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1. LCDS had a total of six students compete on the girls’ team this winter, Allison M. ’19, Lauren W. ’20, Crystal F. ’20, Evie A. ’20, Alexa A. ’22, Riley K. ’22.

The Penn Manor Ice Hockey team finished the regular season with an overall record of 13-5, winning eight consecutive games and nine out of their last 10 to close out the season. The Comets defeated Annville-Cleona 10-2, in the first round of the CPIHL playoffs, before falling to West Shore Christian in Round 2. Jack K. ’19 was selected to participate in the CPIHL All-Star Game. Other key contributors from LCDS included Matthew G. ’19, Wesley G. ’20, Shaan T. ’20 and Thomas K. ’22.

For the past decade or so, a handful of seniors enrolled in Lancaster Country Day’s Model United Nations class have traveled every year to The Hague for an international five-day conference. It’s become a staple of LCDS culture, a sort of nerdy ritual for the departing class.

This year, things were a little different.

First, the MUN class welcomed both juniors and seniors for the first time. Second, it was at maximum capacity, boasting a full complement of 18 students.

And third, while this class hopped the pond like its forebears, we continued on over Turkey, threading the border between Iran and Iraq, hugging the coast of Saudi Arabia, and landing, after 14 hours in the air, in Doha, Qatar. (I would be remiss not to mention here that Qatar Airways gives metal utensils to its passengers. For those 14 hours, we were truly living in the lap of luxury.)

The Hague International Model United Nations, or THIMUN, is an international U.N. simulation that’s also an accredited non-governmental organization with the United Nations. Participating schools are assigned countries which their students represent in a variety of committees, from the General Assembly to the International Court of Justice. It is the students’ responsibility to exhaustively research their country’s policies before the conference. More than 1,000 student delegates from dozens of countries participated in this year’s Doha conference. Among them, hailing from little old Lancaster, Pennsylvania, were six delegates of the Republic of Uganda and 12 delegates of the United Mexican States (Colloquially referred to as Mexico and Uganda.)

Our class had spent months writing policy papers, drafting resolutions, and practicing debate in preparation for the conference, so upon arrival in Qatar, we took a well-deserved break. The group visited Souq Waqif, a historic market in Old Doha that remains a favorite of locals. We toured the Museum of Islamic Art, a beautiful five-story building with panoramic views of the city and art spanning more than a millennium of human history; we went “dune bashing” on a desert safari and experienced the terror of sliding sideways down a steep sand dune in an SUV; and of course, we encountered some camels. We took selfies with camels. We rode camels.

Students were assigned to a variety of committees which focused on topics ranging from corruption in the global fishing industry to nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. Each committee held around 80-100 delegates. LCDS was in a unique position this year, as it represented two countries — which held, at times, opposing viewpoints — simultaneously. Mexico, for instance, enshrines press freedom in its constitution, and its government advertises an effort to protect the interests of journalists acting in the country. (However, it still remains notorious for being one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.) Conversely, Uganda’s official policy on press freedom includes harsh libel laws and restrictions on press access. In a simulated conference, therefore, Uganda would be more willing to speak against measures to protect press freedom than Mexico, even if their policies are roughly the same in practice.

For every serious debate, there were plenty of lighthearted moments. Before my resolution was considered, I motioned for a three-minute unmoderated caucus because, “The delegate from Uganda needs to use the bathroom.” (Speaking in the third-person is required at all times during committee sessions.) Nick H.’19 shamelessly de-linted his suit — during lunch, on a balcony, in front of several hundred people — because he tried on a black hoodie over a white shirt. After taking a fall and receiving stitches in a Qatari hospital (free of charge, because literally every public service in Qatar is free), Lauren L.’19 Facetimed the group on laughing gas to tell us everything was okay. Mr. Umble sat next to her, half-concerned as a chaperone, half-amused as a friend.

Perhaps the most memorable moment occurred on the last night as we rode a bus from the conference center back to our hotel, which we shared with students from Kuwait. Spontaneously, our schools began to sing with one another. We belted out songs like Adele’s “Hello,” Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” and even the Kuwaiti national anthem. And after 30 or so minutes of singing, right as we pulled up to the hotel, someone started a song from Barney. Everyone sang in unison:

“I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family. With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won’t you say you love me too?”

What do you want to be before you grow up? Every Country Day Upper Schooler answers this question in his or her unique way, and every answer is a reaffirmation of Country Day’s commitment to seeing that all our students realize their full potential.

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Cougar News is an online publication that provides news about Lancaster Country Day School, an independent, college-preparatory school that combines a rigorous curriculum with a supportive and encouraging faculty to ensure that every preschool-12th grade student receives the best education available.